IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ora/journl/v1y2011i2p55-61.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparative Analisys Between The Objective And The Subjective Quality Of Life Approach - Strengths And Weaknesses

Author

Listed:
  • Constantinescu Mihaela

    (Academia de Studii Economice Bucuresti, Marketing)

  • Daniel Moise

Abstract

Quality of Life (QOL) can be defined as the degree in which the objective needs of an individual are satisfied in relation with the subjective perspective of his well-being. Thus, there are two different approaches in QOL evaluation: the objective approach (which analyzes the quality of life through economic indicators) and the subjective approach (which evaluates quality through the individual's opinion and actions). There isn't a widely accepted view referring to the use of one of those two QOL approaches, each having a series of strengths and weaknesses. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages brought by these two approaches in QOL studies. The objective analysis has a series of strengths (among which we mention the fact that allows valide comparisons and the fact that doesn't depend on individuals perception), but has also a series of weaknesses, starting with the dependence on statistical data, which in many cases has incomplete registrations,and ending with the fact that doesn't reflect the real value of the well-being perceived by population. The motives for which the QOL subjective approach is promoted, therefore its strenghts, refer to the fact that it reflects important experiences for each individual and the fact that it reveals how macroeconomic policies satify the individual's needs. Certainly, this type of QOL analysis has also some weaknesses, like the lack of validity and accuracy in the data collected through surveys. Considering all the above, there is a conclusion with a wide aplication in the present context of the economy: we can't make a clear delineation between the two QOL approaches, moreover we can state the fact that the is a strong correlation between those two. Thus, the most precise systems of quality of life evaluation are those which use both objective, and subjective indicators, reaching a high level of aggregation at the national and international level.

Suggested Citation

  • Constantinescu Mihaela & Daniel Moise, 2011. "Comparative Analisys Between The Objective And The Subjective Quality Of Life Approach - Strengths And Weaknesses," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 55-61, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ora:journl:v:1:y:2011:i:2:p:55-61
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://anale.steconomiceuoradea.ro/volume/2011/n2/006.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ed Diener & Eunkook Suh, 1997. "Measuring Quality Of Life: Economic, Social, And Subjective Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 189-216, January.
    2. Geraldine Olson & Brigitte Schober, 1993. "The satisfied poor," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 173-193, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joar Vittersø & Sigmund Akselsen & Bente Evjemo & Tom Julsrud & Birgitte Yttri & Svein Bergvik, 2003. "Impacts of Home-Based Telework on Quality of Life for Employees and Their Partners. Quantitative and Qualitative Results From a European Survey," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 201-233, June.
    2. Joar Vittersø, 2003. "Flow Versus Life Satisfaction: A Projective Use of Cartoons to Illustrate the Difference Between the Evaluation Approach and the Intrinsic Motivation Approach to Subjective Quality of Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 141-167, June.
    3. Albino Prada-Blanco & Patricio Sanchez-Fernandez, 2017. "Empirical Analysis of the Transformation of Economic Growth into Social Development at an International Level," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 983-1003, February.
    4. Mouratidis, Kostas & Ettema, Dick & Næss, Petter, 2019. "Urban form, travel behavior, and travel satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 306-320.
    5. Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Anna Kłoczko-Gajewska & Piotr Sulewski, 2019. "Between the Social and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability in Rural Areas—In Search of Farmers’ Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Soo Tan & Siok Tambyah & Ah Kau, 2006. "The Influence of Value Orientations and Demographics on Quality-of-Life Perceptions: Evidence from a National Survey of Singaporeans," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 33-59, August.
    7. Yixuan Liu & Liumeng Li & Guomei Miao & Xinyan Yang & Yinghui Wu & Yanling Xu & Yonghong Gao & Yongzhi Zhan & Yiwei Zhong & Shujuan Yang, 2021. "Relationship between Children’s Intergenerational Emotional Support and Subjective Well-Being among Middle-Aged and Elderly People in China: The Mediation Role of the Sense of Social Fairness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Emilio Colombo & Alessandra Michelangeli & Luca Stanca, 2014. "La Dolce Vita : Hedonic Estimates of Quality of Life in Italian Cities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(8), pages 1404-1418, August.
    9. Marco Grasso & Luciano Canova, 2008. "An Assessment of the Quality of Life in the European Union Based on the Social Indicators Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 1-25, May.
    10. Wim Groot & Henriëtte van den Brink, 2003. "Sympathy and the Value of Health: The Spill-over Effects of Migraine on Household Well-being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 97-120, January.
    11. Hyun Lee, 2003. "The Quality of Korean Life in Camparative Perspective: Objective Quality of Life in Korea and the OECD Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 481-508, April.
    12. Martin Ravallion & Michael Lokshin, 2001. "Identifying Welfare Effects from Subjective Questions," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(271), pages 335-357, August.
    13. Yong Gao & Yuanyuan Chen & Lan Mu & Shize Gong & Pengcheng Zhang & Yu Liu, 2022. "Measuring urban sentiments from social media data: a dual-polarity metric approach," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 199-221, April.
    14. Gao, Yanan & Rasouli, Soora & Timmermans, Harry & Wang, Yuanqing, 2018. "Trip stage satisfaction of public transport users: A reference-based model incorporating trip attributes, perceived service quality, psychological disposition and difference tolerance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 759-775.
    15. Jeroen Boelhouwer & Ineke Stoop, 1999. "Measuring well-being in the Netherlands: The SCP index from 1974 to 1997," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 51-75, September.
    16. Giulia Greco, 2018. "Setting the Weights: The Women’s Capabilities Index for Malawi," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 457-478, January.
    17. Francesco Sarracino, 2014. "Richer in Money, Poorer in Relationships and Unhappy? Time Series Comparisons of Social Capital and Well-Being in Luxembourg," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 561-622, January.
    18. Koen Decancq & Erik Schokkaert, 2016. "Beyond GDP: Using Equivalent Incomes to Measure Well-Being in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 21-55, March.
    19. Saima S. Hirani & Colleen M. Norris & K. Jessica Vliet & Sander Veldhuyzen Zanten & Rozina Karmaliani & Gerri Lasiuk, 2018. "Social support intervention to promote resilience and quality of life in women living in Karachi, Pakistan: a randomized controlled trial," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(6), pages 693-702, July.
    20. Wim Groot & Henriëtte Maassen van den Brink, 2006. "The compensating income variation of cardiovascular disease," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(10), pages 1143-1148, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Quality of Life; Objective Approach; Subjective Approach; Strenghts; Weeknesses;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ora:journl:v:1:y:2011:i:2:p:55-61. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catalin ZMOLE (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feoraro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.